A poll conducted by Maskína May 10-13 reveals that two out of three voters in Iceland find the post of the president important in the Icelandic political system, and 30 percent regard it as necessary. A third of voters think the presidential post has little significance, and close to 12 percent think it should be discontinued.
Men tend to find the presidential office more important than women, or about 35 percent of them, compared with 26 percent of women. Voters under the age of 25 are likelier than others to find the post important, or 47 percent of them. Those who intend to vote for Davíð Oddsson find the president’s post more important than the supporters of other candidates.
The same poll shows that about 63 percent of voters are pleased with the job done by President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson 1996-2016. A third of voters is very pleased with his performance, while close to 15 percent are unhappy with it. Supporters of the government tend to be happier with his performance than are other voters.
Residents of Reykjavík and the East Fjords are less happy with Ólafur’s performance than others, and as voters’ educational level increases, pleasure with his performance goes down.
The poll included 824 respondents, 18 and older, randomly chosen from Registers Iceland.
Presidential elections will be held in June.
